A Ramsgate couple face a sixth Christmas with mould and damp at their home due to Riverside housing association failing to fix the issue of water leaking into their bedroom through an upstairs balcony.
Retired lorry driver David Higgs and wife Carol moved into their flat at Coventina House in May 2019 and say the problem began in September of that year.
The couple made repeated reports of water ingress from that date until work to resolve the leak was completed in September this year.
But following Storm Bert in November and Storm Darragh this month, the leak is back and so is the mould and damp.
David, 73, said: “We had that big storm and all the rain and we had water coming in again and the room is all mouldy again.
“We blew our tops. They are coming to wash the walls down and wash away the mould but it’ll probably come back.
“We have had enough, it’s been going on five years now.”
The couple have already raised, and won, and Ombudsman complaint over Riverside’s refusal to reimburse them for having to buy new curtains and now they have lodged another complaint after once again having to sleep in Coventina’s guest room due to the condition of their own bedroom.
David says their health has been hit with coughs and colds and the mould and damp aggravates his emphysema and COPD.
He said: “We couldn’t sleep in our room. The wall is sodden, you can see it is coming from the {upstairs} balcony.
“On November 11 one of their operatives, a nice guy who does little jobs here, agreed with us about what the problem was. He had 4ft of soffit and cut it down, covered it with black mastic, stuck it down and covered with white mastic and said that should work. We don’t know if it has worked yet.
“We have put up with mould spores, damp and black mould and it has affected us quite badly with coughs and chest infections. I have used my inhaler a lot more than I should have to.”
In the first complaint the Housing Ombudsman said: “As the landlord acknowledged there were delays in resolving issues but failed to apologise for them or to award compensation for the impact of them there was maladministration by the landlord.
“Therefore, the Ombudsman will be ordering the landlord to pay compensation of £250 for the distress and inconvenience caused by the delay in resolving issues.”
That compensation is for events up until 3 May 2023.
The Ombudsman adds: “Any events that happened after that date should be addressed by the landlord in its response to the new complaint the resident has raised.”
A Riverside spokesperson said: “We apologise to Mr and Mrs Higgs as we know how frustrating this is, and we continue to work with them to put this issue right.
“Mr and Mrs Higgs recently made us aware of the same issue and we attended again to investigate the property.
“We had work planned in for Wednesday 11 December, to fit a vent and remove the mould. Our technical team will ensure it is completed to standard and any further works can be identified and carried out immediately.”
“After our visit, we will have fully moisture mapped the affected area again and taken thermal imaging to create a picture so can update our customers following this visit.
“Since the new reports, we have offered alternative accommodation, and we are in contact with Mr and Mrs Higgs on a daily basis.”
Carol says the alternative accommodation offered was a hotel but the couple decided against it as they would have to leave their home each night and then leave the hotel every morning.
Decades ago I worked for a company as a building consultant, and we carried out a survey of council property (not Thanet) which had reported “rising damp” on multi floor tower blocks! We found this was most prevalent with pensioners, young mums, and disabled people, people who spent most days in doors! Many used oil heaters to heat one room, or sometimes camping gas stoves, to heat. Most prevalent places for mould were close to bathrooms, and kitchens.
This was the major cause of mould, warm damp air caused by cooking, bathing, oil and gas heaters, condensing on a cold surface, which attracted bacteria ergo mould. None of the tenants ventilated their homes, and some even taped over ventilation bricks, as they caused a draft! This was why people suffered mould, and I suggested it was chiefly due to their living choices. Later, many tower blocks were insulated from the outside, with insulation panels, to try and stop the “cold bridge” occurring on cold walls.
Disgusting landlord…greedy and without compassion
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